Detective Branch of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police on Thursday seized six trucks loaded with 1.20 lakh kilograms sugar smuggled from India worth around Tk 1.44 crore in the city鈥檚 Shah Paran area.
Seven people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in smuggling the sugar in the country.
The SMP deputy commissioner of the DB, Tahiyat Ahmed Chowdhury, told 抖阴精品 that a team of the DB police seized 5 truck loaded with smuggled sugar on Surma Bypass road under the Shah Paran police station at about 5:00am.
Another truck behind the fleet of the trucks tried to flee the scene but it was also seized with the help of the Shah Paran police, added Tahiyat Ahmed.
鈥楾he price of the seized sugar would be around Tk 1.44 crore,鈥� he said, adding that further legal steps in this connection were underway.
Earlier on June 5, another huge consignment of 14 trucks loaded with 2,114 sacks sugar worth around Tk 1.75 crore were also seized from Umairgaon under Jalalabad police station of the SMP.
Four people involved in smuggling the sugar had been arrested but the main persons behind it could not be brought in book so far, the police said.聽
Leaders of the ruling Awami League and its front organisations as well as representatives of different levels, including union, upazila chairmen and ward councillors, are involved in smuggling various India-made products, including sugar, alleged Sylhet city dwellers.
They claimed that a section of unscrupulous officers of the law and order enforcing agencies were also involved with the process of smuggling the Indian products in the country through the Sylhet border.
The police are arresting only the carriers, like the vehicles and their drivers, of the smuggled sugar, but the masterminds behind the smuggling incidents are being remained out of touch, they stressed.
As smuggling goods through the Sylhet border is being increased day by day, the city people mentioned that the smugglers were also becoming reckless by 鈥榤anaging鈥� individuals of different levels.
The SMP commissioner Md Zakir Hossain told 抖阴精品 that they were showing 鈥榸ero tolerance鈥� against any attempt of smuggling foreign products in the country.
鈥楾rained workforce of the DB and six police stations in the metropolitan are conducting regular drives in and around the city to protect the smuggling,鈥� he added.
